EL54 — Power Pentode, P8A | Tubeofile | Tubeofile

EL54

Name: EL54
Brand: Philips

Power Pentode — P8A — Philips

Data: HighHigh quality — base, heater, all universal parameters present, and ≥50% of desirable parameters filled in. Safe to use for design decisions.

↗ TDSL ↗ Radiomuseum

Known Equivalents & Substitutes

No known equivalents. If you know of any, use the ⚑ Report Issue button above.

Similar Tubes (Not Drop-In Compatible)

4699

Related EL6-family type listed by Radiomuseum with slightly different ratings

EL12N

Different base and slightly different data per Radiomuseum — not pin-compatible

EL53

Same P8A base and voltage rating (425 V) but lower Pa_max (9 W vs 18 W) — smaller output pentode of the same family

EL6

Same electrical structure and characteristics but on B8A side-contact base (not P8A) and rated only to 250 V anode — EL54 is essentially an EL6 on the P8A base selected for 425 V operation

EL6/425

Voltage-selected EL6 variant normally replaceable with EL54 per Radiomuseum; differs slightly in detailed ratings

Electrical Specifications

Absolute Maximum

Anode Voltage (max)Anode Voltage (max)425V

Screen Voltage (max)Screen Voltage (max)425V

Anode Dissipation (max)Anode Dissipation (max)18W

Screen Dissipation (max)Screen Dissipation (max)2W

Cathode Current (max)

Notes

Very rare late-1940s Philips output pentode — the EL54 is the voltage-selected, side-contact (P8A) counterpart to the EL6 (which uses the B8A side-contact Octal base). Electrically identical structure to the EL6 but rated for 425 V on both anode and screen.
Anode connection is via top cap. The P8A side-contact base carries heater, cathode, grids, and metallization — not compatible with standard Octal (IO) or B8A sockets.
Maximum ratings match the EL6 (Pa=18 W, Ik=90 mA, Ps=2 W) except for the raised Va_max and Vs_max (425 V vs 250 V / 275 V) — intended for higher-B+ push-pull output stages.
TDSL and Radiomuseum provide only maximum ratings; detailed operating-point data (gm, ra, Ia, Pout) is not published in commonly available references. Designers should use EL6 operating-point data as a starting point at Va ≤ 250 V.
Rare enough that substitution is rarely an issue in practice — when found in equipment it is typically replaced with an EL6 if the circuit voltage permits.

Pin Layout — P8A

1Control Grid

2Cathode

3Heater

Socket-Compatible Tubes ⚠ Not electrically compatible

4694 AL3 AL5 AL5/375 EL2 EL3 EL3/375 EL3N EL5 EL53

References